So0o I am on a quest for 10's with my FWD street car....It has Been gutted from the Front seats back, and I have removed the AC and just about every emission and extra vaccum lines that you can Imagine.

My set-up is a Fully Built 6 Bolt 2.0, 1G head, DKS 272's, JM Fab Race SMIM, HUGE FMIC w/ short piping...now here is where it gets a little restrictive...Evo III exhaust manifold, and PTE 6152 with the Bolt on housing.

I see 25psi @ about 4800-5k...The power is nice but I would like to help the spool up.

So0o I am going to be making a 304 SS tubular manifold VERY simular to the SLS manifold















Now I will Be Buying the Head Flange from SLS for $55
The T3 collector from SLS for $65
The T3 flange for $20


I will also be using these Mandrel Bends From Ace Stainless











I will be switching either to a PTE 6176 with a T3 Hotside, or a HX40 6 blade with a Billet Compressor wheel

BUT in the meantime I will be Making a spacer Inbetween the turbo and the manifold allowing me to still Use my Mitsu hotside on the PTE 6152 untill I switch to the T3 PTE 6176.....and If I go with the HX40 I will also be using the spacer


Now I will be Adding Photos as the Parts Come in ....And as I am Fabricating....The total cost of the parts is around $270....So0o Hopefully I will Have a BAD ASS tubular manifold and 1/3 of the cost....

And if all Goes well I will be Fabricating these and Selling them...

Thanx for the space and I will Keep this Thread Updated

I make some manifold in my spare time for racers in NE. I suggest that you use 321 Stainless if you can afford it. 304 is very good for making manifolds but it is not as strong and has a lower heat tolerance than 321, 321 is more expensive and it is harder to find pre-cut flanges of the same material even though a 321 flange is nit very necessary due to the thickness of the flange. I hope you are a very good tig welder. When working on a turbo manifold that will see high pressure it is absolutely necessary to back purge. Stainless steel reacts with oxygen at welding temperatures forming oxides, back-purging with argon provides an inside weld that is up to 30% stronger. This is referred to as back-purging because it purges, or displaces, ambient air inside the tube with a gas that does not contain oxygen. Back-purging is performed by capping both ends of the tacked-together tube and connecting an argon gas line to one end allowing a low continuous flow of gas into the tube during welding. The extra strength from back purging is very important.

I hope you have a TIG and know how to weld. Good luck there.

They do have a TIG...I will not be Welding This...Im just the Brains....My uncle is the Welder...We already know about back-purging

How well do you think this 304 will hold up?

what thickness is the tubing?

thickness is 16G

304 is known to crack on a street car

321 or bust.

I wouldn't trust 16 gauge to hold the weight of a turbo. I'd suggest getting some schedule 10 piping. It's a little over .100" wall thickness. That's what the best fabricators use for manifolds.

Order Stainless 304 Pipe in Small Quantities at OnlineMetals.com

Sch10 321 gets my vote. I think 304 would work though if youre tight on cash.

Also like spoonman says, back purging is vital to strength. Pretty basic execution - root pass on a V groove to burn through and a top pass to cover up and look pretty.

Lets see some progress pics of it being fabricated. Good luck.

PS, jump over to the HondaTech Fabrication forum. One of the best fab forums Ive found out there.

why dont u work on your tune to get ## spoolup lower, ie timing and fuel? Good luck on the manifold though! i see u have a keydiver chip, do u have an eprom burner to retune the settings?

I think u have a potential 10sec setup as it sits with good traction and a lot of boost! Obviously the potential for more power is there with a big t3 housing but people have made great power on bolt on housings. ## gonna spend tons of money upgrading to a different turbo, 02housing, etc and will still need a good tune and traction. I would say try those things first and then if it doesnt work, then look into a bigger turbo or full t3.

Ok Guys...here an update...I will be switching to 321 SS...I ordered the naterials today and hopefully will start fabbing sometime this week

congrats on being a do it yourselfer and making a manifold. i cant wait to see pics when its done! i feel that you have a potential 10sec setup the way your car sits with a good tune. There is definitely more power potential to be had from a full t3 setup but guys have made great power with the bolt on housings. You'll ###### need about 30psi to do it but with a good tune i dont see why it wouldnt be capable of tens with good traction obviously. You can play with your timing and fuel to get reasonable spoolup. Have you ever had it dyno tuned? If not I think it would make a world of difference!

No I have not...BUT I am think about taking it to SBR....we all kno how good they are with tuning...I mean 500whp on a 16g....GEEZE....610 whp...GT35R...stock ecu, and AFC...

My main concern is traction...I am about to make a thread about...head over there is you have any inputs...

Thanx again guys for your support...

here is the Quest for 10's thread

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/handling-tech/318645-quest-10s-fwd.html#post151699545

thanx again guys...

i definitely think you should have your current setup professionally tuned if ## within distance of sbr. you might be shocked at what its capable of. i would save your money on going full t3 and work on your traction. you dont want to run 13s at 132mph do u? i definitely think you should push what you have to the max.

kawboy said:

304 is known to crack on a street car

321 or bust.

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That's why SLS uses 304. We use 304 at my shop as well for all headers and exhausts for DAILY street driven cars as well as custom race set up's. 304 is a reliable metal. If any manifold or header was to ever crack it was not because it's 304. It's because of faulty welding or just bad design.

To each his own

My 321 manifold is holding together mint, whereas other 304 i've seen have cracked

Imback said:

That's why SLS uses 304. We use 304 at my shop as well for all headers and exhausts for DAILY street driven cars as well as custom race set up's. 304 is a reliable metal. If any manifold or header was to ever crack it was not because it's 304. It's because of faulty welding or just bad design.

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And piping material.

The gauge is crucial and weather you use 304 or 321, at 16 gauge it's going to eventually crack, especially on a street driven vehicle.

kawboy said:

To each his own

My 321 manifold is holding together mint, whereas other 304 i've seen have cracked

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The wall thickness is a much more important variable than the grade of stainless.

All of the manifolds that are known to crack and made of 16 gauge tubing. And the expensive, best-of-the-best manifolds are made of schedule piping.

Definitely not a coincidence.

I would reccomend using Sch10 304 Stainless. There is no need for 321 in your application. As well, why would you want to use a 304 collector and flanges, and then use 321 for tubing? Be sure to use a 308 rod if you do so.

As well, I would strongly reccomend contacting JHRacing Home Page (Jake Hanhardt); he is on here as "topstreet" -- He had a really nice exhaust manifold flange fabricated that is machined from elongated to match the exhaust port to rounded with a recessed joint to fit the round tube directly in without modification. It is a really nice piece, and is definitely worth the money. As well, he is an excellent fabricator, and already sells manifolds, along with completed collectors -- all of which are constructed from Sch10 304 Stainless. It can easily handle a GT42R hanging off of it without worries of cracking. If you want to see one of his manifolds, I would suggest going to his website, or looking around at several members of this forum -- as 99gst racer has one of his badass manifolds on his car as well.

If you are set in stone on fabricating one yourself, then I would strongly reccomend using the correct rod for the material, along with being sure you are getting complete penetration along with argon backpurging.

Finally, I would reccomend getting it flanged for your final application -- so if you are looking to do T3 or T4 in the future, I would put one of these flanges on, and then use a machined adaptor flange for temporary use of your existing setup. Personally, I would reccomend going with an 0.81A/R T4 undivided turbine housing on your current turbo (you can purchase one directly from Precision Turbo), as you will see MAJOR HP gains.

Otherwise, if you want to stick with your current mitsu flange and use an adaptor, here is a great vendor that sells the adaptor flanges:

eBay Seller: mc-motorsports: eBay Motors items on eBay.com

16-gauge 304 stainless would be ideal for downpipes, and exhaust systems; NOT for exhaust manifolds, as it really cannot stand up to holding a 30#-50# weight off of it while operating at 400-700 degrees celcius.


Good luck with your project!

Well the PTE 6152 in the bolt on housing is gone...I now have a PTE 6176 in a T3 .63 A/R

twicks69 said:

I would reccomend using Sch10 304 Stainless. There is no need for 321 in your application. As well, why would you want to use a 304 collector and flanges, and then use 321 for tubing? Be sure to use a 308 rod if you do so.

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Not sure if I read this right. But you do not want to use 308 filler when welding 321 stainless.

Shearer said:

Not sure if I read this right. But you do not want to use 308 filler when welding 321 stainless.

Click to expand...

Ron, would 308 be only used when doing 304-to-304 then? Which rod would you use when doing 321-to-304?

Thanks,

Tim Z

Im using all 304 SS

by the way.....Thanx for all your help Twicks...we need more guys like you in the DSM community

redtsi252 said:

by the way.....Thanx for all your help Twicks...we need more guys like you in the DSM community

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I try to do my best! Unfortunately, welding isn't my strong suit, and having solid advice from a great fabricator is always the way to go. Thankfully, we have several excellent ones on this forum that can contribute to threads like this one!

Good luck with your project!